EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team (2-6) fell to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (5-3) in straight sets (20-25, 18-25, 25-27) on Wednesday night (Sept. 11).
Senior setter
Audrey Spolidoro recorded her 42nd career double-double, contributing 21 assists and 12 digs, while sophomore outside hitter
Kali Jones added 10 kills.
Next up for the Bennies is the Wartburg Invitational on Sept. 20-21. CSB will face Simpson College at 5 p.m. on Sept. 20, and will then take on Coe College at 9:30 a.m. and host Wartburg at 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 21.
Overall, CSB hit .108 with 31 kills on 111 attempts, committing 19 errors. Jones had her sixth game of the season with double-digit kills. Spolidoro's performance brought her career assists total to 2,773, leaving her just 17 assists shy of moving into seventh place on CSB's all-time list (Katie Koch, 2,789, 2017-21).
Junior
Chaeli Haupert led the team with 13 digs as CSB recorded a total of 45 digs. Junior
Mackenzie Knofczynski contributed five kills on 14 attempts along with three block assists.
In the first set, CSB held a 17-15 lead before UW-Eau Claire rallied with a 10-3 run to win, 25-20. The Bennies registered 10 kills on 38 attempts, hitting .105, with contributions from Spolidoro, Jones, Flanders, and Knofczynski each recording two kills. Spolidoro and Haupert added five digs each. The Blugolds hit .163 and secured the set with a late surge.
In the second set, the two teams were tied at 6-6 before the Blugolds went on an 8-2 run to take a 14-8 lead. CSB closed the gap to 19-16, but UW-Eau Claire finished strong with a 6-2 run to win, 25-18. CSB hit .114 with nine kills on 35 attempts, adding two blocks and two aces. The Blugolds outperformed with 17 kills on 35 attempts and a .429 hitting percentage to take a 2-0 set lead.
In the third set, CSB initially led, 8-6, with four kills on eight attempts. However, UW-Eau Claire answered with a 6-1 run to gain a 12-9 advantage. With a 7-5 run, the Bennies tied the set at 21-21. CSB took a 24-23 led after two Blugold errors and a 10th kill from Jones, but UW-Eau Claire closed out the match with three consecutive points to win the set, 27-25. The Bennies posted 12 kills on 35 attempts, hitting .143, and recorded two aces and a block. The Blugolds hit .250 with 14 kills on 36 attempts, finishing with one ace and a block.
